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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25987906">The Devil in Miss Quinzel</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/knit_wear/pseuds/knit_wear'>knit_wear</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Harlequin AUs + Backstories [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman (Movies - Nolan), Batman - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, One Night Stands, One Night in Harley, Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Sexual Tension, Smut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 12:20:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,644</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25987906</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/knit_wear/pseuds/knit_wear</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Harley is a student at Gotham University. J works for the Falcone Crime Family. They meet at a bar one night by chance and she takes him home.</p>
<p>or</p>
<p>Harlequin AU: Harley &amp; J meet when they're younger.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Joker (DCU)/Harleen Quinzel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Harlequin AUs + Backstories [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1886167</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>56</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Devil in Miss Quinzel</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>A/N: If you're new to the Harlequin, it’s a series rooted in reality. Harley is a violent manipulative bitch (and always has been), the Joker is a high-functioning psychopath. They have a toxic but not abusive relationship based on trust and a shared desire to do whatever the fuck they want. It kicks off in the wake of the events of the Dark Knight and there’s no real backstory for J, though it alludes to him working for the Falcones at some point in the past.  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>Set up: 6 years before the events of the Dark Knight (and the Harlequin). Harley is a senior at Gotham University, and it's been almost a year since she violently murdered her boyfriend. J is currently working for the Falcone's and being a little shit. They're both about 22 ish</em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Theme: Darkside - 'Paper Trails' (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/6rqONVHOT73QecUdJ5HVHy">Spotify</a>) (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk5OG5O3ZlE">Youtube</a>) </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>The Devil in Miss Quinzel</p>
<p>1. One Night In Harley</p>
<hr/>
<p>There was a dive bar in the university district good for sniffing out information, the kind of place that operated outside of the Cosa Nostra's influence. The mob and academia just didn't <em>mix</em>, no doubt because those upper-middle-class <em>kiddos </em>at Gotham University weren't useful to a mobster like Carmine Falcone.</p>
<p>J popped a cigarette between his lips as he ducked out of his car near the dive bar, which was squashed between a university book store and a coffee shop. Oh, it was so nice and <em>clean </em>down here. The sun was shining and there was something so hopeful and <em>sweet </em>in the air you could almost taste it.</p>
<p>He took a drag off his cigarette before crossing the street, smirking when a taxi honked irritably at him. He stepped up onto the curb in front of the dive bar and checked his watch—<em> right </em>on time—but before he could step into the bar a blonde came barrelling out of the book store, her arms laden with heavy textbooks.</p>
<p>She slammed into his shoulder on her way past, stumbling and dropping her books.</p>
<p>"<em> Prick</em>," she snapped irritably, shooting J a look so withering it could have stripped paint off the wall.</p>
<p>He raised his eyebrows, his lips twitching into a small smile as he watched her duck down to pick up her books, obviously flustered and pissed off about something.</p>
<p>"Need a little help?" he drawled, fighting back an amused smirk.</p>
<p>She straightened up, her arms full of books again, scowling at him. She was classically beautiful, her face perfectly heart-shaped with high cheekbones and a button nose, her eyes a glacial blue. But it was the ugly scowl twisting her mouth that J found downright <em>adorable. </em></p>
<p>"Fuck off," she spat, spinning on her heel and stomping past him down the street.</p>
<p>What an <em>asshole </em>, J thought cheerfully, swinging around to watch her march away</p>
<p>Mmm. <em>Great </em>ass <em>, </em>too.</p>
<hr/>
<p>The dive bar was run by Molly Sullivan, a low-level member of the Irish mafia who tended to avoid politics and kept her head down. She paid for protection like every other good bar owner in Gotham, and in general, she avoided any dealings with Carmine Falcone. That was until it came to the mob's attention that she was running an illegal dogfighting racket out of the basement of her bar, and she wasn't being very <em>upfront </em>with her usual handlers.</p>
<p>So Falcone sent J down to see her, sending a much <em>clearer </em>message.</p>
<p>She seemed to get the message.</p>
<p>A few nights days later, J headed back down to Molly's bar to pick up her taxes or to reinforce the message, whichever was necessary. To blend in amongst the <em>kiddos </em>he wore black jeans and an overwashed grey tee-shirt with a pair of dirty red Chuck Taylors. They were still sporting a few rust-colored stains from some light torture that got a little messier than expected. <em>Oopsie. </em></p>
<p>J tucked a handgun in the back of his jeans before he climbed out of his crappy little car, swinging his arms as his eyes swept the quiet street Molly's bar sat on. It was late September and Gotham was experiencing an Indian summer, the air still sticky and the nights warm. It was a good night for getting into some mischief, though he suspected after their last <em>discussion</em>, Molly wouldn't be putting up much of a fight.</p>
<p>He jogged across the street and slipped into the bar, the soles of his sneakers sticking to the wooden floors, tacky with years of slopped beer. There were a handful of customers scattered around, mostly loners. A chubby guy wearing a trucker hat hunched over a beer at the bar, a skinny guy in plaid playing a game of pool on his own, and a couple of students in a booth, talking with their heads close together.</p>
<p>J sidled up to the bar, drumming his fingers on the sticky surface when a figure slid onto a stool a few down from him. He glanced sideways, his eyebrows rising when he realized it was the blonde who nearly ran him over when he'd last been down there, her pretty face illuminated in pink neon from a beer sign behind the bar.</p>
<p>She was alone, her purse on the bar beside a half-empty gin and tonic. J watched her pick up her drink and pull the straw between her lips, draining another third of it before she set it back down. His eyes drifted over her quickly, from her honey-blonde hair hanging limply around her shoulders to her obviously-a-college-girl outfit of a tank top and skinny jeans, showing off a slim but shapely physique.</p>
<p><em>Great ass</em>, if he remembered correctly.</p>
<p>Like she could feel him staring, she turned to look at him, her expression cold and closed off.</p>
<p>J pretended not to notice, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling innocently and looking around the bar.</p>
<p>Molly appeared then, middle-aged and curvaceous with curly red hair and a sweet face, she definitely wasn't the type to push back against Carmine Falcone. She edged up to the bar uneasily, her right hand still bandaged from their last <em>discussion</em>, a yellow envelope thick with cash in her left.</p>
<p>"Joker," she greeted him, her voice low.</p>
<p><em>"Molly</em>," J purred back at her. She placed the cash on the bar and pushed it toward him.</p>
<p>"Suppose I should offer you a drink," she sighed, ducking down to grab a beer from the fridge.</p>
<p>The chubby guy flagged her down then, leaving J to drink his beer in peace. He braced his elbows on the bar and rocked back on his heels, his eyes drifting to the blonde again. She'd finished her drink and was watching Molly move around behind the bar, waiting to get her attention. Then her eyes darted toward him, catching him looking again. But this time, J was pretty sure there was something <em>curious </em>lighting up her blue eyes, and it occurred to him that she'd seen Molly hand over the protection money.</p>
<p>He raised a lazy eyebrow in a challenge, daring her to do something about the blatant corruption, but she just continued to eye him warily until Molly arrived to take her order.</p>
<p>"Gin and tonic," she said, her voice low and syrupy. <em>Sweet</em>, even.</p>
<p>J watched out of the corner of his eye as she paid Molly and put her wallet away, her attention fixed firmly on her drink. She was intentionally ignoring him, he realized, something people <em>usually </em>found difficult to do. But she made a valiant effort even as he settled in to stare at her outright, a smirk sliding onto his lips as he thought about how she'd called him a prick and told him to fuck off. He wondered if she remembered him—probably not. He melted into the background when he wanted to, making things all the more <em>fun </em>when he wanted to be seen.</p>
<p>Then she turned to look at him again, her eyebrows raised expectantly. A silent little, <em>can I help you? </em></p>
<p>J offered her a lazy smirk, and in the back of his mind, he thought, <em>here kitty, kitty, kitty… </em></p>
<p>Like clockwork, she stood up, slinging her purse over her shoulder and grabbing her drink, then shuffled up the bar so she was standing beside him, looking up at him.</p>
<p>"Hi," she said, a little slyly.</p>
<p>"Hi," J's eyes swept over her. <em>Very </em>pretty. He turned so he was facing her fully, his elbow braced on the bar. "What's <em>your </em>name?"</p>
<p>"Harley," she braced her elbow on the bar too, mirroring him, her expression hard to read.</p>
<p>J felt an excited little <em>tingle </em>at the base of his skull—the tingle that came with finding something unknown or <em>weird</em>.</p>
<p>"I'm J," he smirked.</p>
<p>"What's J stand for?" she asked, her head tipping to the side.</p>
<p>"Whatever you want," he shot back smoothly, a line that usually made girls go all giggly and coy. But she just raised an eyebrow.</p>
<p>"How about jackass?" she suggested drily, making J laugh, surprised. "You're the guy who nearly ran me over the other day," she added, shooting him an unimpressed look.</p>
<p><em>"Me?" </em>J widened his eyes at her. "Cupcake, <em>you're </em>the one who nearly ran me over."</p>
<p>So she <em>did </em>remember. That was interesting.</p>
<p>"Mm-hmm," she looked unconvinced, but there was a smile playing around the corners of her mouth now. A <em>sneaky </em>one. She leaned over the bar and waved Molly down. "Two tequilas," she said, shooting J a sideways look. "He's paying."</p>
<p>He chuckled throatily and reached for his wallet, that little tingle of excitement morphing into something decidedly more <em>intrigued</em>.</p>
<p>They clinked the shot glasses together and downed them, and J noticed she didn't wince like most girls her age would. Instead, she brushed her hair over her shoulder and licked her lips, her pink tongue drawing his attention.</p>
<p>"So, J," she looked up at him. "What do you do?"</p>
<p>"Oh uh, I'm… <em>freelance</em>," he drawled evasively.</p>
<p>She cracked a grin at that. It made her face light up, a little mischievous and <em>very </em>sweet, a downright <em>delectable </em>dichotomy.</p>
<p>"And what do you do… <em>Harley </em>?" he asked, smooth as anything.</p>
<p>"I'm a senior at GU," she explained. "I study clinical psychology."</p>
<p>"Ohhh, <em>psychology</em>," J purred as if this meant something to him<em>. </em>"You must have a <em>very </em>big brain."</p>
<p>She laughed, her head falling back as a nice tinkling sound escaped her throat. Then she leaned over the bar and waved at Molly, smiling. "Two more tequilas."</p>
<p>"So," J planted his chin on his knuckles and ducked down so he was eye level with her. "What's got you drinking alone tonight, hm? Where's all your friends?"</p>
<p>Harley didn't look at him for a moment. Instead, she arranged the shots Molly set down on the bar—moving one a fraction of a centimeter to the right, then turning the other in a semi-circle, like she was putting them in their proper places. <em>Weird</em>. Then she looked up at him, her expression hard to read again.</p>
<p>"I just needed to blow off some steam," she explained, catching his eye as she lifted the tequila to her lips.</p>
<p>"Is that right?" J's eyes lingered on her mouth as he knocked his shot back, sensing she was ramping up to something.</p>
<p>"Do you live around here, J?" she asked, hard to read again.</p>
<p>"Not really," he admitted, narrowing his eyes at her. "Do <em>you </em>?"</p>
<p>"I'm just a couple blocks that way," she shrugged, inclining her head toward the door before she met his gaze again, an unspoken question glittering in her blue eyes.</p>
<p>J fought back a grin, his ego ballooning up that she would invite him back to her place so openly and so quickly. Part of him wanted to say no just to see how she'd react—badly, he hoped, so maybe he could see that side of her that called him a prick again. But the contrarian in him was vastly outvoted by the young, <em>male </em>side of his brain, which started to get very… <em>very </em>curious about her.</p>
<p>"Wanna get out of here?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.</p>
<p>J chuckled quietly, a little incredulously. <em>Girls </em>were not something he struggled with, but even this was a little quick in his book.</p>
<p>He also had ten grand of Carmine Falcone's money in his back pocket and places to be but…</p>
<p>His eyes rolled over her again. <em>So </em>pretty.</p>
<p>"Sure," he agreed, flashing her a smirk and offering her his hand.</p>
<p>She eyed his hand for a moment, looking a little bemused by the gesture. Again, <em>weird</em>. Then she shrugged and took it, shooting him a sidelong look as she pulled him out of the bar.</p>
<p>"So," J asked, threading his fingers through hers as they stepped out onto the street. "What's got you needing to uh, blow off steam?"</p>
<p>"I'm applying to about six different PhD programs," she explained, glancing up at him. "It's a lot of writing and convincing people to give me letters of recommendation… on top of my usual workload."</p>
<p>"Yikes," J drawled, eyeing her sideways. "Whaddya gonna do if you don't get in?"</p>
<p>"Probably go on a mass shooting spree," she said flatly, making him laugh heartily.</p>
<p>J stopped walking, the impulse to have her <em>closer </em>crackling through him, impossible to ignore. He yanked on her hand, making her lose her footing as she stumbled into him. For a second her face darkened, but she stopped short of calling him a prick when he reached up to smooth her hair off her forehead, catching her eye. Her shoulders relaxed as his fingers trailed over the shell of her ear and along her jaw, nudging her chin up so her face was tipped up toward him. A line formed between her eyebrows as she frowned up at him like she was confused, but she didn't stop him when he bent down to kiss her, something unexpected <em>excited </em>skittering around his stomach at the simple prospect of feeling her lips against his.</p>
<p>They were on a public street corner, well-illuminated beneath the glow of a street lamp, but Harley responded enthusiastically all the same. Her hands slid up his chest to curl around the back of his neck, scratching him lightly as she parted his lips with hers, taking control.</p>
<p>J wound his fingers into her hair, pulling it tight as her tongue brushed against his. He pulled her hair a little tighter, and she sighed into his mouth, making his pulse leap at his neck.</p>
<p>She liked having her hair pulled.</p>
<p>Oh, <em>my</em>. This was going to be fun.</p>
<p>He pulled away from her and caught her eye again, his heart beating a little faster. "How much further," he asked.</p>
<p>She licked her lips and stared up at him, searching his face. "Close."</p>
<p>J waited for a beat then forced himself to release her, twisting away as they started down the street again, the heavy moment lingering over them, a taste of what would come next. They walked in silence for a few more blocks, loosely holding hands as she led him left and then right toward her building, a three-story new build that was perfectly square and perfectly gray. <em>Very </em>boring.</p>
<p>She started fumbling through her bag for her keys, that kiss still hovering over them, making J's hands twitch to touch her again. To <em>squeeze </em>her. He gave into the impulse just as she scooped her keys out of her bag, wrapping his hands around her waist and pushing her up against the wall of buttons for her neighbors' apartments.</p>
<p>They exchanged a look he wasn't sure how to quantify, then she slid her fingers into his hair as he caught her lips again, more aggressively this time. He flexed his hands on her waist, which was tiny, and he wondered who this Harley really was. This <em>weird, </em>intense<em>, </em>beautiful girl who called him a prick and invited him home after less than ten minutes of talking to him. Who didn't have the slightest idea who he was, and who tasted <em>impossibly </em>good.</p>
<p>His hands began to roam of their own accord as she deepened the kiss, her tongue sweeping into his mouth, obscenely soft. He smoothed his palms over her hips, and up her sides and along her ribs, the heel of his hand grazing against her breast as she bit down on his bottom lip, sinking her teeth in until she tasted blood.</p>
<p>She gasped and pulled back, her eyes wide.</p>
<p>"Sorry," she whispered, looking nervous.</p>
<p>J licked his bottom lip, his eyes heavy and lusty as he realized she'd made him <em>bleed. </em></p>
<p>"Don't be," he murmured, tucking her hair behind her ear for her. "You can bite me all you want," he added slyly, flashing her a smirk that made her chuckle, relieved.</p>
<p>He took a step back so she could unlock the front door and let them into her building, which was covered in cheap blue carpet and contained a single rickety-looking elevator. Harley bypassed the elevator in favor of a narrow staircase, leading J up to the second floor and down a short hallway covered in more of that bright blue carpet.</p>
<p>When they reached her unit she ran a hand over her hair, glancing at him quickly before she unlocked her door and let them into a small studio apartment. It had the awful blue carpet too, and when she turned on the bedside table light, he saw it was very neat and utilitarian, without much in the way of personality you would expect from a girl her age. You would expect posters or mementos or photos, something to indicate a past. Something to indicate her interests. But there was none of that. Just a neatly made bed covered in a red duvet, a small, tidy kitchenette in the corner, and a desk that was more of a mess, covered in books with a laptop sitting open in sleep mode.</p>
<p>"How long ya been here?" he asked, his eyes sweeping the room, wondering if she'd just moved in.</p>
<p>"Since January," she said, kicking her shoes off by the door and dropping her bag beside them.</p>
<p>"You don't wanna live with your <em>girlfriends</em>," he asked slyly, watching her pad across the studio to her kitchen, where she grabbed a cheap bottle of gin off the side and poured a large measure into a mug.</p>
<p>"I'm too busy for friends," she explained.</p>
<p>She was <em>lying. </em></p>
<p>J joined her in the kitchenette, eyeing her curiously. When she offered him the mug, he sniffed it, wrinkling his nose.</p>
<p>"So, you're a gin straight-up kinda gal, huh?" he raised an amused eyebrow.</p>
<p>"It's classy," she insisted, shrugging one shoulder, making J's face split into a massive grin, finding her <em>very </em>entertaining.</p>
<p>He set the mug aside and let his hands settle onto her waist, the soft dip above her hips drawing him to them like a magnet. He turned her around and pressed her up against the kitchen counter, eyeing her curiously.</p>
<p>"Ya know… you're a little bit <em>weird</em>," he observed, raising his eyebrows at her.</p>
<p>Her face darkened, unamused, offended.</p>
<p>"Aw," he cooed, running his fingers through her hair while she glared up at him but notably didn't push him away. "Don't worry, baby," he reassured her, ducking down to kiss her. "I like it."</p>
<p>She bit his lip again, a sharp hard <em>pinch</em>, a warning that made J pull back.</p>
<p>"My name is Harley," she said, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Not <em>baby </em>."</p>
<p>J's eyes widened, surprised and honestly, pretty turned on by this ice-cold <em>meanness</em>. And for once, the contrarian in him obediently kept its mouth shut.</p>
<p>"Harley," he agreed, his hands tightening on her waist.</p>
<p>Her breath caught when he lifted her up on the counter and stepped between her legs, his eyes lingering on her face, trying to get a read on her. But it was nearly impossible. She was like a sphinx. She was <em>hiding </em>something. Deep, deep, <em>deep </em>down inside, refusing to let it out.</p>
<p>"Mm," he wrapped a large section of her hair around his hand, and he saw her take a shuddering breath. "Did you come looking for me tonight, Harley?" he asked her quietly, his voice husky.</p>
<p>"I told you… I needed to blow off some steam," she replied, a little breathlessly, catching his eye. "But you'll do."</p>
<p>A pleased smirk spread across J's face, and he tugged on her hair experimentally, watching her eyes close as she leaned into it.</p>
<p>Girls had always been an absolute <em>breeze </em>for J. With a face like his and his disarming, devilish smile, they practically threw themselves at him. Oh, they had <em>no </em>idea what he was capable of, which was all part of the fun. And they were so <em>easy </em>to understand, the buttons he needed to push painfully obvious. He used to take advantage of it when he was younger, charming young ladies into bringing him home when he was still little more than a street rat. But eventually, it got boring, not <em>challenging </em>enough. It took quite a lot to catch the Joker's eye these days, and even more to hold his attention.</p>
<p>But <em>Harley </em>was doing quite a good job.</p>
<p>He searched her face quickly, realizing that he did <em>not </em>understand her, and even though she'd invited him home, she was decidedly not <em>throwing </em>herself at him either. He started to wonder how many boys had gotten upset about her biting them, and when she pulled his mouth down hers, and that thought morphed into curiosity over what other small acts of <em>violence </em>might have gotten her into <em>trouble</em>.</p>
<p>She wasn't interested in the slow pace he tried to set, her fingers raking through his hair as she shoved her tongue in his mouth and looped her legs around his waist. He slipped a hand under her tank top, his fingers sinking into the soft skin of her waist, making her breath hitch as she ran her hands down his back, pulling him closer.</p>
<p>Then her hand connected with the gun casually tucked in the back of jeans, and she froze as she realized what it was.</p>
<p><em>Shit</em>.</p>
<p>This was going to get interesting.</p>
<p>She pulled away from him, her face hard to read as she put a few inches of space between them. J watched her react, uncertain about what she would do. He guessed it could range between screaming for help to shooting him herself to anything in between, a fantastically unpredictable prospect.</p>
<p>She wrapped her hand around his gun and pulled it free, and J held his breath as she looked down at it, obviously not knowing how to hold it. Then she looked back up at him, her eyes narrowing.</p>
<p>"Freelance, huh?" she said drily, setting the gun on the counter and pushing it away, taking its presence in stride.</p>
<p>J's eyes widened. Well… he hadn't been expecting <em>that</em>.</p>
<p>Then she tugged the hem of his tee-shirt up, something <em>sneaky </em>glinting in her eyes as he took the hint and yanked his shirt off over his head, casting it aside.</p>
<p>She looped her arms around his neck and pressed her chest against his, staring straight into his eyes with an intensity that felt a little <em>rattling</em>. Then she leaned in to kiss him, urgently and impatiently, her lips demanding, and even though J would have preferred to slow things right down until she was <em>squirming</em>, he found it nearly impossible not to match the eagerness of her mouth. She bit him again, making him growl quietly as he dug his fingers into her sides, her tongue laving his bottom lip, soft and slippery, and more than enough to make his cock rock hard.</p>
<p>He pulled away from her abruptly, yanking her top up impatiently, and she lifted her arms to help him get it off. Beneath her tank top, she wore a plain white bra fringed with lace, nothing fancy or special, not the kind of thing you would expect someone looking to get laid to wear under their clothes.</p>
<p>Her breathing was shallow as his mouth collided with her neck, his teeth scratching over her pulse as his hand slid up to cover one of her breasts. She sighed when he licked a tendon at her throat, her nails digging into his shoulder blades, holding him close. He nudged her bra strap off her shoulder and pulled it down her arm to free one small, perfect breast, his cock straining as he ducked down to draw it into his mouth. She made a wonderful, breathless sound when he swirled his tongue around a taught pink nipple, and when he pulled on the sensitive little bud with his teeth, she scratched him, <em>hard</em>, breaking the skin.</p>
<p>She slapped both her hands down on the kitchen counter, her eyes wide.</p>
<p>"Sorry," she whispered, sounding mortified, prompting J to look up at her with one bemused eyebrow raised.</p>
<p>"I don't know what kinda boys you<em> normally </em>bring home," he growled, smoothing his hands up her thighs, his thumbs following the inside seam of her jeans to her core. "But you don't have to be delicate with <em>me</em>, pussycat." Then he paused, correcting himself. " <em>Harley </em>."</p>
<p>She eyed him uncertainly for a moment, which J found to be pretty <em>wild— </em>she was more comfortable with him having a gun than the idea that he didn't mind her being <em>indelicate </em>with him. But then she dug her nails into his shoulder experientially, her eyes fantastically <em>curious</em>again. He waggled his eyebrows at her, letting her know she would have to do better than that to put him off, and slid his hands under her ass to scoop her up off the counter.</p>
<p>She twined her arms around his neck again, kissing him eagerly as he staggered toward her bed. He'd intended to drop her—maybe make her a little <em>mad </em>again—but her soft mouth moving up his jaw to his ear made it impossible to let her go. He fell forward on top of her instead, his knee slamming into the bed frame as he caught himself on one hand above her. She raked her nails up his back and pulled on his ear with her teeth, her body arching up into his impatiently, making his cock grow uncomfortably hard in his jeans.</p>
<p>He wrapped his hands around her waist and pushed her up the bed, his pulse racing in his neck as he pulled back to look down at her. Her blonde hair splayed out around her, her lips parted, her breasts peeking out over the top of her pretty bra as she stared up at him through heavy eyes. J fingered the little white bow at the center of her bra, seeing desire flashing in her eyes, almost <em>violently</em>. He ran his fingertips down the front of her body to the top of her jeans, watching her stomach visibly tense as she squirmed and drew her bottom lip between her teeth.</p>
<p>Oh, he'd had a <em>feeling </em>it would be fun to make her squirm.</p>
<p>He unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans for her, and she lifted her hips to help him tug them off. She wore simple panties beneath, white cotton, edged with lace to match her bra. There was something innocent, or at least <em>boring </em>about them that didn't square with the lusty gleam in her eye, or the self-assured way she'd invited him there; another dichotomy.</p>
<p>He crawled on top of her and kissed her again, her lips eager as his hand slipped down to curl around the inside of her thigh, shoving it out to the side. She whimpered quietly when the backs of his knuckles grazed over the crotch of her panties, the soft little sound making it nearly impossible not to push them aside to find out just how excited she was. He decided to make her wait instead, letting his hand hover while he slithered down her body, which was all slender, graceful limbs and gentle curves, her skin tawny with a fading summer's tan against her white panties.</p>
<p>"You're awfully…" he hummed throatily, squeezing her waist as he took a moment to examine her. "<em> Perky</em>," he settled on, making her laugh breathlessly.</p>
<p>"Gymnastics," she breathed, her eyelids fluttering. "I'm pretty bendy too."</p>
<p>J chuckled throatily at that—that she could be funny <em>and </em>needy at the same time was a pretty fantastic combination. <em>That </em>deserved a reward in his book. He cupped her through her panties, his cock throbbing when he felt how <em>damp </em>they were as she tried to rock against his hand. He kept his hand pressed flat against her, watching her writhe around for a few seconds before he traced a fingertip over her, featherlight. She squeezed her eyes shut and pulled her lip between her teeth, and when he stroked her clit through her panties, she swallowed thickly. Trying to be <em>quiet</em>.</p>
<p>"You got like, nosey neighbors or something?" he asked, his voice low as he stroked her.</p>
<p>"Huh?" she panted, frowning, confused.</p>
<p>"You just seem to be trying <em>awful </em>hard to be quiet," he observed slyly.</p>
<p>Her lips pinched stubbornly, <em>resisting </em>him, making his eyes narrow curiously as he pushed her underwear to the side.</p>
<p>"Ya know…I'm gonna think I'm <em>doing </em>something wrong if you don't tell me," he said slyly, sliding a finger through her folds. His eyes closed of their own accord, his train of thought hitting a brick wall when he felt how wet she was, her body soft and silky and <em>waiting </em>for him. The need to taste her was almost overwhelming, to feel that wetness on his tongue, only matched by the distracting and all-consuming need to have his cock buried inside her.</p>
<p>He pressed his mouth against the little <em>swoop </em>where her hipbone curled up, working the tip of his finger inside her, where she was unbearably tight. He inhaled sharply as he unwittingly imagined having her wrapped around his cock, and when he pushed his finger deeper inside her, stroking her lightly she finally gave in and released a happy little cry that was music to his goddamn ears.</p>
<p>He pulled his hand away to tug her underwear down her thighs, her ragged breathing competing against the blood rushing in his ears. She took a shaky breath when he spread her legs—she <em>was </em>bendy— and slithered between them, his blood running hot as his eyes swept over the soft swell of her pussy, which was just as perfect and pretty as the rest of her, making his mouth water as he hooked one of her legs over his shoulder.</p>
<p>"Wait," she breathed, prompting J to look up, a little annoyed. "You don't have to," she said.</p>
<p>"Don't <em>have </em>to?" he cocked an incredulous eyebrow at her, almost laughed. " <em>Trust </em>me, cupcake... I <em>really </em>want to."</p>
<p>"<em> Harley</em>," she reminded him with a breathless whine. "My name is Harle—ah!"</p>
<p>"Mm… Harley," he agreed, using his tongue to rub lazy figure-eights over her clit.</p>
<p>Again, he would have liked to go slow, to see how far he could push her, to see if he could get her to <em>beg </em>or maybe even cry. But she quickly became a lusty, writhing mess under his mouth, and J quickly learned which buttons to press to draw the most <em>interesting </em>sounds out of her. A little more pressure here and she was keening loudly, the slide of his tongue there and she was clamping down on his finger, digging her heels into the bed and cooing quietly. She let herself go completely, and J gave in too, his brain quieting as he got swept up in her happy little cries and the utterly addictive taste of her on his tongue.</p>
<p>He had to lay an arm across her stomach to hold her down when she started bucking up against him, his fingers moving faster inside her as his tongue lapped at her relentlessly. She gave up on the duvet in favor of grabbing fistfuls of his hair, pulling it until his scalp began to prickle like she was going to rip it out by the root. And when he found that sensitive little spot inside her, she nearly melted down like a nuclear reactor, swearing and wiggling while he held her down until she came hard, nearly <em>squealing </em>as her body spasmed with pleasure.</p>
<p>When she finally started to calm down, she lifted her head to look at him, panting and blinking hard.</p>
<p>J shrugged her leg off his shoulder and hauled himself up so his elbow was braced on the bed beside her hip. He popped his first two fingers in his mouth and hummed happily, smirking at her.</p>
<p>"No one's ever made me, um," she looked a little dazed. "You know, that way."</p>
<p>"That <em>way </em>?" he didn't bother to fight back a shit-eating grin as he realized what she was saying. He tipped his chin down so he was looking up at her. "No one's ever got you off goin' down on you before?"</p>
<p>"It just takes too long," she explained, looking embarrassed. "I know how to do it better myself," she added, more confidently.</p>
<p>J narrowed his eyes curiously. "So why were you looking to bring someone home?"</p>
<p>Her lips twitched on one side, amused, her eyelids still heavy.</p>
<p>"I like sex," she shrugged coyly, meeting his eye. "I can come during sex," she added. It sounded like a promise.</p>
<p>There was something about the honesty of her admitting she just <em>liked </em>sex that made J's blood run hot in his veins. It made his pulse throb in his throat as his eyes swept over her tight little body again, the need to be inside her, to fuck her until she was screaming all-consuming.</p>
<p>He started to reach for her when she sat up abruptly, reaching behind her back to unclasp her bra, her eyes bright and sleepy as she tossed it aside.</p>
<p>"Take your pants off," she demanded.</p>
<p>Feeling weirdly<em> giddy</em>, J shuffled out of his jeans and kicked them off. Unrestrained, his cock bobbed up against his stomach, unbearably hard, the softness of her body practically screaming for him. He knelt between her legs, his heart slamming in his throat as Harley twisted toward her nightstand and flipped open a small lacquered box, plucking out a condom. She tossed it on the bed beside him, then laid back against her pillows, stretching one long leg out and bending the other as she slipped a hand between her thighs to touch herself, her eyes steady and calm as she waited for him.</p>
<p>She was like a sphinx. Impossible to read, impossible to understand, and J found himself staring at her as his hand moved over his cock, feeling… <em>bewildered </em>by her.</p>
<p>"Come on," she encouraged him, prodding him in the thigh with her foot, her eyes big and pretty.</p>
<p>He snatched up the condom she'd thrown on the bed, his eyes trained on her as he ripped open the foil with his teeth and rolled the rubber down his length. He pitched forward over her, that giddiness nearly making his head spin as she lifted her pelvis, and he guided his cock between her legs, anticipation vibrating between them so heavily he could taste it, her trembling knees telling him she could too.</p>
<p>Her lips parted in a shaky sigh when he pushed inside her, slowly filling her inch by inch, her pussy so tight he had to close his eyes to concentrate. Her knees locked around his hips and she pawed at his back, urging him to go faster, <em>impatient</em>. He grabbed one of her legs behind the knee and hauled it up to her shoulder, then pinned one of her desperate hands to the bed above her head. He forced her to wait a beat as he held her down, watching her eyes search his face before he finally sank into her fully, making her whine breathlessly when he bottomed out inside her.</p>
<p>"Mm, you <em>are </em>bendy," he murmured, pulling his hips back and thrusting into her again, getting her to make another fantastic <em>soft </em>sound as her pussy squeezed around him.</p>
<p>He found a sharp, steady pace that she seemed to like, her hips rolling up to meet his eagerly, encouraging him to go faster with little soft sounds, her eyelashes heavy against her cheek. He still had her arm pinned to the pillow above her head, and she was pushing against him, her bicep sticking out in a futile struggle to break free as her body bucked up into his.</p>
<p>Feeling magnanimous, J released her arm and rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him. She caught his eye as she braced her hands on his thighs behind her, her hips snapping as she slid up and down his cock, her pussy gripping him tightly. She released a quiet moan when she started to pick up the pace, her eyes closing and chest heaving.</p>
<p>J dug his fingers into her legs, his heart pounding in his neck as he watched his cock disappear in and out of her body. He glanced up at her pretty face, slack with pleasure, her eyes closed as her hand snuck down to rub her clit. Getting things done <em>herself</em>. That was when it hit him for the very first time that night, that he was being <em>used, </em>and he started to feel a little bit <em>ignored</em>.</p>
<p>Well, <em>that </em>wasn't going to do.</p>
<p>He sat up and snatched her hand from between her legs, wrenching it far behind her back as he thrust up into her. She made a surprised, breathless sound, and when her eyes flew open to meet his, they were <em>blazing. </em>There was that <em>violence </em>again, so breathtakingly visceral and hot-blooded it would have terrified a weaker man. But the Joker wanted to see more; he wanted to see her <em>unleashed</em>.</p>
<p>He fisted a handful of her soft blonde hair, yanking her head back until her throat was exposed and her back arched, her body strung tight with his cock deep inside her. She gasped at the ceiling, her free hand scrambled for purchase on his shoulder, her nails finding his collarbone. He felt her pussy get wetter as she panted wildly, and even though she had her arm trapped behind her and her head forced back, uncomfortable, probably painful, she started rolling her hips enthusiastically, sloppy and reckless, <em>giving in. </em></p>
<p>Wanting to see her face while she fucked him, he released her hair to grab her ass instead. His fingers dug into her like they were trying to burrow under her skin, wrenching her body back and forth, fast and rough, the sounds of their flesh connecting cutting through her soft gasps.</p>
<p>"Pull my hair," she pleaded, breathless and sweet, making J's brain go a little fuzzy.</p>
<p>He did what she asked, grabbing her hair at the side of her face and yanking on it hard as her body convulsed against his.</p>
<p>She cried out weakly, her voice cracking, and she pitched forward to press her cheek against his, her hair sticking to his face, her skin impossibly hot. She smelled sweet, musky, a little <em>rotten</em>.</p>
<p>"Harder," she gasped, bouncing against him. "<em> Harder </em>."</p>
<p>J lurched up into her, panting as he released her arm so he could hold onto her properly, squeezing her until he felt like his fingers might cut through her. She swooned loudly, scratching him and biting him and crying out joyfully in his ear, her lithe, trembling body wholly engrossing him, confusing him as he felt his release start to approach.</p>
<p>Breathing raggedly to hold it at bay, he snuck a hand between them, his thumb searching out her clit. When he rubbed the little bundle of nerves she almost immediately came apart, loud and happy, her body fluttering wildly around his cock, making his eyes roll back in his head as he came with her. Euphoria washed over him in a hot, bright wave, her voice and her body making everything else white out as he spilled inside her with a throaty grunt.</p>
<p>She was breathing loud, right in his ear, trying to catch her breath, her chest heaving against his. Slowly, J pulled back to look at her, watching her roll her shoulder forward, shrugging off the discomfort from having it pinned behind her back.</p>
<p>"Ah," she sighed, looking him over like she was only then seeing him for the first time even though he was still inside her and they were pressed flush together, impossibly close. "Ah… that was great." She flashed him a smile. "Thanks."</p>
<p>J laughed incredulously; a short wheezy bark was all he was capable of at the moment. He slowly disentangled his hand from her hair, his heart still racing in his neck as he searched her face, feeling confused, and a little overwhelmed.</p>
<p>She winced and touched his shoulder where she'd been clawing at him while they were in the middle of it, and J looked down to see tracks of angry red scratches covering his collarbone and upper arm, his neck. He shot her an amused look and she got a little bit shy, a little bit sweet, confusing him more.</p>
<p>"Who are you?" he demanded, without meaning to. It was an errant thought—who is this person, what does she mean and what is she hiding, what is she capable of.</p>
<p>Her smile dimmed, and he saw the moment her guard slammed back into place, like a gate rattling closed, a key twisting in a lock. Separating her from him.</p>
<p>"I told you," she said, climbing off of him and reaching for a tee-shirt hanging over her desk chair. "I'm Harley and I study psychology at GU."</p>
<p>"Uh-huh," J narrowed his eyes as she shimmied into the tee-shirt, then plucked up a wastepaper basket from under her desk and deposited it at the foot of the bed in front of him. She flashed him a tight smile before racing back to her small en suite bathroom, pulling the door shut behind her.</p>
<p>J frowned at the closed door, uncertain what was happening as he listened to her turn the sink on. At a loss, and still feeling fuzzy, he edged the used condom off his cock and tied it off, then tossed it in the wastepaper basket. He ran his tongue over his teeth, scrolling through the urges and impulses his brain was sending him, which ranged from tying her to the bed until she begged him to fuck her again, to stealing her laptop and getting the hell out of there. He settled on middle ground, for once, standing and pulling his pants back on, the envelope of cash for Carmine packed safely in his back pocket.</p>
<p>Harley reappeared then, her cheeks pink and smile patient, the screaming siren who'd fucked him with reckless abandon tucked neatly away inside a pretty shell. It made J a little bit <em>angry </em>as he buckled his belt; that she kept that meanness locked away from the world—the world <em>deserved </em>to see that.</p>
<p>He tugged his shirt back on then wiggled his feet into his trainers. When he looked back up, Harley had picked up his gun and was offering it to him, holding it wrong again, which told him she knew nothing about guns.</p>
<p>People who weren't used to guns were usually scared of them. Their shape and weight were a tactile reminder of the threat of death they promised, the implicit violence they wrought. But she wasn't afraid. She looked unfazed as she held it out to him. Did she even care if he'd someone killed with it?</p>
<p>J took his gun off her and stuffed it in the back of his jeans, curiosity warring with pragmatism as he considered forcing her to reveal herself to him again. Dragging that violent lust out of her kicking and screaming.</p>
<p>"I have some emails to send," she offered him another pinched smile and inclined her head to her front door. "So…"</p>
<p>J eyed her warily a moment longer, then shrugged helplessly as he made to leave, the awkward energy filling the room making his teeth itch.</p>
<p>But she stopped him when he was halfway over the threshold, laying her hand on his elbow. He swung around to look down at her, his pulse thrumming lustily when he saw a sliver of that sneakiness in her eyes again.</p>
<p>She looped her arms around his neck, pressing her body flat against his as she rose up on her tiptoes to kiss him, her mouth soft and hot. J forgot about being annoyed or awkward or angry, his hands sliding down to her ass, which was so firm and <em>perky</em>, you could probably bounce a quarter off of it. He squeezed her hard, his fingers sliding under the elastic of her underwear, and she bit his bottom lip in retaliation, pulling on it with her teeth. One of them made a low growling sound—J wasn't sure who, but he felt it vibrate in his chest as her tongue rolled against his, his cock getting hard again.</p>
<p>Then she pulled back, her eyes heavy, her pretty lips parted.</p>
<p>The words to ask for her number were on the tip of J's tongue, words he'd only ever spoken with zero intention of following through. He tried to picture what that would look like, following through and calling her, dating her, but it was just as confusing as everything else about her.</p>
<p>"Thanks again," she said slyly, disentangling her arms from his neck and stepping away.</p>
<p>His eyes widened as she offered him a smirk. Then she shoved him hard in the chest, making him take a step back before she slammed the door in his face.</p>
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  <b>A/N: Ahahahaha. Harley you mythic bitch.</b>
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  <b>Please review &amp; comment!</b>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So weirdly, the thing I like most about this is the idea of 22 year old Harley just going out to a bar to get laid. I’ve always written her as very sex-positive, like no shame or insecurity over it, she knows what she wants and has no problem asking for it or getting it. There’s a line in the Harlequin after they sleep together at Bruno’s where she’s like, thank god I get to be rough with him instead of holding back like with other men. So we got a little bit of that too. She’s not repressed, she’s just learned if she wants to get laid, she’s to hold back. </p>
<p>So, if you’re feeling extra horny for more of this flavor of J and Harley, I recommend heading over to read the Harlequin. You only have to get through 14 chapters of character development and sexual tension to get to the smut (8 for a first kiss), and from there it’s pretty much constant + plenty of angst.  </p>
<p>This is AU, but anything background-y can be canon for the Harlequin &amp; its sequel, the Pantomime (which I currently update every Sunday). I wrote this in a few days and normally prefer to sit on things before posting, but everyone is miserable and stressed out in the Pantomime right now, so screw it. My readers deserve some smut. </p>
<p>This is dedicated to the Anon musing about them running into each other in the past, and then a double dedication to the Anon who described J as “a teensy bit of a ho” because that shit cracks me up EVERY time I think about it. If I ever do another chapter of this, his ho-ness will be central. </p>
<p>We have a lot of fun over on tumblr. Come join us, I’m Knit-wear-it</p>
<p>Please review!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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